Faking It casting call for transgender youth

Attention Faking It fans: Ahead of its season 2 finale, EW can exclusively reveal that the series is launching a casting call in search of transgender youth to appear in the show’s third season.

While the show is no stranger to casting characters from different cultural backgrounds and sexual orientations, the casting call is another step towards making Hester High even more inclusive – a goal for MTV and Faking It showrunner Carter Covington.

“I would like to support the trans community and to represent the trans community more in the show. Unfortunately there’s a lack of trans actors and actresses in Hollywood just as there’s a lack of roles for them,” Covington tells EW. “I’m excited — I think it’s time to change that. We are trying to get trans actors and actresses on our radar so we can include them in telling their stories.”

The comedy follows Amy Raudenfeld who pretends to be in a relationship with her best friend, Karma Ashcroft, in order to gain popularity at their unique Texas high school. But, Amy soon realizes she might not be “faking” her feelings for Karma after all, and she begins to question her sexuality even more. According to Covington, the upcoming finale provides the perfect jumping-off point for more opportunities to “expand the world of Hester.”

“I think our heart is in the right place when it comes to telling stories about the LGBT community. Growing up gay, I saw a lot of characters that kind of scared me about my own community because they weren’t always portrayed in a positive light,” he says.

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“I don’t want to feel like this show becomes an after-school special where no one does anything wrong, but I do want to show that people who are LGBT are just like anybody else. We deal with the same problems and the same insecurities. And I think that’s why Hester High is such a special place because we can tell stories that aren’t just coming out stories and disclosure stories. We can talk about relationships, friendships, and things that have nothing to do with someone’s sexuality or gender.”

The show is looking to cast transgender as well as gender non-conforming actors and actresses in speaking and background roles beginning next week. Check out the video below for more details from Covington along with stars Rita Volk and Katie Stevens.